I guess that includes tennis champion.

Sunday, Kim Clijsters capped off a remarkable comeback by winning the U.S. Open women's title with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the ninth-ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Though this was the 26-year-old Belgian’s second U.S. Open victory, this title was even more impressive than her 2005 triumph. Clijsters became the first unseeded woman to win the U.S. Open and her stunning victory came just 18 months after she gave birth to a daughter. Sunday also marked the first time since 1980 that a mother has won a major tennis tournament.

But Clijsters’ recent motherhood may have actually helped her athletic prowess. While it may seem counter-intuitive at first to think that the dramatic physical changes a woman undergoes while pregnant might have a positive effect on her ability to compete athletically, a growing body of research suggests that the child Clijsters cradled in her arms after the match may have made her a better tennis pro.

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